A total of 24 former clients of the late New Haven attorney William Gallagher are owed $1.86 million from their dealings with Gallagher, but court records show his bank accounts contain only about $330,000.

Gallagher, who once led two prestigious legal associations, has been the subject of legal proceedings involving former clients the court has determined he owed money to. Gallagher died on Christmas Day 2013 and since then a court-appointed attorney has been trying to determine his financial situation.

In a recent ruling, Superior Court Judge Brian T. Fischer acknowledged "there is a substantial shortfall of funds on hand" before approving a payment schedule for the 24 claimants that will pay them percentages of what they are owed.

The clients owed the most money are Joseph and Cheryl Soracco, who are owed more than $484,000, records show. Under a settlement plan, they will received $77,705. The Soraccos have filed a malpractice lawsuit against Gallagher's probate estate that is pending.

Beth Baldwin, an attorney for the judicial department's chief disciplinary counsel, said that victims can appeal to the department's Client Security Fund to try to get some of the money they are owed.

The Soraccos are the only clients who have sued so far. Baldwin said there may be more funds available as the trustee continues to look through Gallagher's accounts, but final payments will be only a small percentage of what people are owed.

"The money is just not there," Baldwin said.

There are five other clients who are owed six-figure sums and all will receive significantly less than what they are owed, court records show.

"I don't think anybody has any idea where the money really went. It is a big mystery," New Haven attorney Jonathan Einhorn said.

Einhorn represented two clients who made claims — in one case a deceased boy's estate was awarded $300,000 after a lawsuit. The probate court spilt the funds between the mother and father, but since the mother didn't claim the money right away the probate court ordered Gallagher to hold it in escrow.

When the woman came to get her $150,000 it was gone, Einhorn said.

He said Gallagher was a highly respected attorney.

"Bill was basically people's idol. Everyone would go to him for advice on a case and he took on all kinds of cases," Einhorn said.

Gallagher is one of only two lawyers elected president of both the Connecticut Bar Association and the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association.

The judicial department's chief disciplinary counsel filed a lawsuit against Gallagher's firm shortly after his death. Fischer appointed New Britain attorney William Sweeney Jr. as a trustee responsible for going through 45 boxes of Gallagher's files.

Within weeks of his appointment, Sweeney returned to court and got approval to spend $6,000 from Gallagher's bank account to hire the accounting firm of Miller, Moriarty & Co. to examine Gallagher's files.

Fischer also ordered Sweeney to withhold parts of settlement payments until the files were sorted out. Sources familiar with the investigation said that one issue is whether Gallagher had properly paid liens such as Medicaid and Medicare or workers' compensation out of settlements of personal injury cases.

Einhorn's second client, Peter Capella, was one of those cases. Gallagher was supposed to be holding more than $258,000 in Medicaid reimbursement payments for Capella to repay his union, which had covered all of his health insurance costs after he was injured while working. Capella will receive about $41,000 to pay the union under the court settlement.

Sweeney sent an initial letter to more than 60 of Gallagher's clients notifying them that a review was underway. Fischer ordered that a second letter be sent last March to potential claimants asking them for "a sworn statement with details of their agreement with Gallagher and the amount of money they think they are owed."